Government requests for account data increased by 27% globally compared to the last half of 2015, increasing from 46,710 to 59,229 requests, Facebook Deputy General Counsel Chris Sonderby said.

"As we have previously emphasised, we apply a rigorous approach to every government request we receive to protect the information of the people who use our services. We scrutinise each request for legal sufficiency, no matter which country is making the request, and challenge those that are deficient or overly broad," he added.

Sonderby emphasised that Facebook does not provide governments with "back doors" or direct access to people's information.

"We'll also keep working with partners in industry and civil society to push governments around the world to reform surveillance in a way that protects their citizens safety and security while respecting their rights and freedoms," he said.